Syria Agrees to Undof Extension

Syria has agreed to an extension of the mandate of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) on the Golan Heights for another six months until Dec. I, the Syrian Ambassador to the UN, Mowaffak Allaf, said today in a telephone call to Secretary General Kurt Waldheim.

Waldheim announced at a press conference yesterday that Israel had already agreed in principle to an extension of the current UNDOF mandate, which expires May 31. The Security Council is expected to meet Thursday or Friday to extend the mandate.

In a report to the Security Council on the past six months of the UNDOF operations, Waldheim recommended another six-month extension and said the UN force had continued to perform its tasks effectively with the cooperation of Syria and Israel and that the situation on the Golan Heights remained quiet.

But Waldheim warned that the situation in the area would continue to be unstable and dangerous unless there was real progress toward a settlement. He also said that unless meaningful negotiations were resumed promptly, there would be a growing danger of serious deterioration of the situation. (By Yitzhak Rabi)